While capacity of network connections has increased since the introduction of dial-up, high speed connectivity is not ubiquitous in all regions. Also, bandwidth is not an unlimited resource and there is a need for solutions that improve the utilization of bandwidth and that also address network performance issues.
Various solutions exist for improving network performance such as load balancing, bonding of links to increase throughput, as well as aggregation of links. In regards to bonding/aggregation, various different technologies exist that allow two or more diverse links (which in this disclosure refers to links associated with different types of networks and/or different network carriers) to be associated with one another for carrying network traffic (such as a set of packets) across such associated links to improve network performance in relation for such packets.
Examples of such technologies include load balancing, WAN optimization, or ANA™ technology of TELoIP, as well as WAN aggregation technologies.
Many of such technologies for improving network performance are used to improve network performance between two or more locations (for example Location A, Location B, Location N or the “Locations”), where bonding/aggregation of links is provided at one or more of such locations. While the bonded/aggregated links provide significant network performance improvement over the connections available to carry network traffic, for example, from Location A to an access point to the backbone of a network (whether an Internet access point, or access point to another data network such as a private data network or high performance wireless network) (“network backbone”), the bonded/aggregated links are generally slower than the network backbone.
Prior art technologies including bonding/aggregation generally result in what is often referred to as “long haul” bonding/aggregation, which means that the bonded/aggregated links are maintained, for example, from Location A and Location B, including across the network backbone, which in many cases results in network impedance. As a result, while bonding/aggregation provides improved network performance, for example, from Location A to the network backbone, network performance across the entire network path, for example, from Location A to Location B, may be less than optimal because the technology in this case does not take full advantage of the network performance of the network backbone.
Furthermore, prior art systems are generally set up on trial and error, ignoring the fact that networks are dynamic and can be constantly varying in speed, data traffic volume, signal strength, and so on. There is no apparent solution in the prior art designed to monitor or address the varying network performance variables of both a bonded connection and a network path carried over a high-performing network bone.
There is a need for a system and method that addresses at least some of these problems, or at least an alternative.